


Discussions of the Nerdy Kind

by DarkSeraphim



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Bonding, F/M, Nerdiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-31
Updated: 2012-08-31
Packaged: 2017-11-13 06:59:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/500752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkSeraphim/pseuds/DarkSeraphim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andrew is feeling down in the dumps over all the horrible things he has done.  Dawn comes in with an unexpected cheer up plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Discussions of the Nerdy Kind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ScheherazadeBet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScheherazadeBet/gifts).



> Hope this is okay! I have NEVER written this pair before so I wasn't sure what to do exactly. But I hope you like it!

Andrew sighed rather melodramatically.  Again he was left alone while everyone else got to live the dream, to fight the forces of evil and slay the bad guys.  Oh sure, they told him that he was holding down the fort but he knew they didn’t trust him.  He wouldn’t trust him either after what he did.  But despite his attempts to atone, and he really was trying, they still didn’t seem to trust him or believe him. 

 

But he knew…he murdered someone he called his friend.  Sure, maybe he was tricked, but it was a flimsy excuse.  He murdered Jonathan.  He tried to kill Buffy and her friends on several occasions…and even though it was Warren who murdered Willow’s girlfriend, Andrew felt just as guilty as Warren should have.  He should have seen the other was a sociopath.  He should have done a lot of things.

 

“Is this how Gabrielle felt?  When Xena branded her a traitor?”  He asked to the air occupying the kitchen.  He slumped back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.  “But then again, Gabrielle was acting with a mother’s love for a…demented hell spawn.  I’m just an idiot.”

 

“Please tell me you weren’t comparing yourself to women in black leather?”

 

Andrew promptly fell out of his chair with a loud and frankly unmanly squeak of surprise as Dawn poked her head into the kitchen.  He scrambled back onto his chair, trying to grasp some remnant of his sorely missing dignity.  He swore he could see an impish grin on that sweet, innocent face.

 

“I-I was not!  I was just doing a simple comparison to Gabrielle’s journey of redemption.  I thought, considering the circumstances…I could use the inspiration.”

 

Dawn raised an eyebrow.  “Yeah…but there are two problems with your comparison.”

 

“Oh really?  And what would that be, Mini-Slayer?  What would you know of Gabrielle and Xena?”

 

Dawn smirked and plopped herself down at the kitchen table.  “One, Gabrielle and Xena were the best of friends-slash-closet lesbian lovers.  And I think everyone in this house hates you.”

 

Andrew slumped.  The cheerful way she said it made it sound so much more depressing for some reason. 

 

“Two: Gabrielle inadvertently caused the death of Xena’s son.  Yeah, sure you did something stupid and tried to help the First, but it’s kinda different from killing our family members.”

 

Andrew looked up at her from folded arms.  “What about Tara?”  He asked glumly.

 

Dawn rolled her eyes and slapped him upside his head.  “Stop it.  Warren killed her.  Sure you were an absolute idiot but hey, you’re not that idiot anymore now are you?”

 

Andrew rested his head back on his folded arms.  “Depends on who you ask.”  He muttered, only to yelp as Dawn slapped him again.  “Hey!  What was that for!”

 

“That was for choosing a crappy role model.  I would have gone with Sailor Moon.  She would have angsted for like, five minutes and then gorged on sweets.”

 

Andrew sat up, frowning.  “You watch Sailor Moon?”

 

“Uh, duh?  What else do you think I do on Saturday mornings?”

 

Andrew shook his head and held up his hands.  “Hold on…how the hell is Sailor Moon a better role model than Xena?  Xena is the embodiment of female empowerment!”

 

“Oh please, she’s a male fantasy dressed in black leather.”  
  
Now it was Andrew’s turn to raise an eyebrow.  “Come on, teenage girls in sailor fuku’s?”

 

Dawn glowered.  “Yeah, well, Sailor Moon is better because she relies on teamwork.  She needs the other scouts to even be effective.  Without them there might as well be no Sailor Moon.”

 

“And that’s exactly why Xena would kick her ass!  Besides Xena has Gabrielle, her conscious!  Her soul mate!”  At Dawn’s amused look, Andrew blushed.  “I don’t mean like that-I mean yes I can’t deny I’ve had my fantasies…my many, many fantasies…”  He coughed nervously as his blush reddened.  “But, in Ancient Greece two warriors who were close friends and shared adventures were often homosexual lovers so it’s not just male fantasy!  Besides it’s not just THAT.

 

“Gabrielle represents everything good Xena can aspire to be.  She’s innocent and kind and naïve, the person Xena wants to protect and even remember herself by.  Serena’s a selfish pig who eats a lot of sweets.  It’s only when she’s Sailor Moon when she kicks ass.”  Andrew smirked.  “And a ditzy sugar addict is supposed to be better?”

 

“But Serena’s supposed to be like, the average girl who suddenly becomes a superhero!  She doesn’t want to go around fighting monsters.  She wants to date boys, eat pocky and stay home where it’s safe.”  Dawn defended.  “She’s supposed to complain, and whine, and be ditzy.  That’s why she had friends to back her up, to slap her and tell her it was time to be a grown up and be responsible.

 

“Xena may have Gabrielle, but Serena had the Inner Scouts and the Outers!  She had friends to back her up, to help her when she fell.  She didn’t have to learn to be cold and drag herself around.  But that doesn’t mean she’s any less of a hero.”

 

They continued like this for about a half of an hour, until both stared at one another across the table with narrowed eyes, neither refusing to give in on their viewpoints.  But something in their conversation clicked with Andrew.  It was something very important, something…profound.  He felt a settling in his soul, not quite inner peace but a stepping stone, if you will.  Now if only…

 

He gave her a calculating look.  “…Carmen Sandiego.  Slayer, Watcher, or Vampire?”

 

Dawn gave him an affronted look.  “Hel-LO!  She was SO obviously a rogue watcher who stole magic to travel through time and steal stuff!”

 

“What!  No way!  She was so very obviously a slayer.  How else could she do so much and be that good?”

 

Dawn rolled her eyes.  “Please, everybody knows the watchers have all the good stuff locked away in their libraries.  Besides watchers can be so badass.  Just look at Giles!  I found this old picture of him once.  He was wearing leather!  And he was in a band!  He’s got TONS of awesome books and weapons.  Where do you think he got those from?  The Gap?”

 

When Buffy and the others came back from patrol, they froze as they heard nerdy bickering from the kitchen.  Later even Xander would admit that the sight of Andrew and Dawn debating on which X-Men female was superior, Rogue or Storm, that it was possible one of the nerdiest things he had ever seen.

 

Andrew fidgeted.  After being thoroughly embarrassed by the arrival of the others, he had managed to get Dawn alone for a quick second in the hallway.  “Hey, Dawn, I just wanted to say-“

 

“No need.”  Dawn said, smiling and cutting him off.  “Your graceful conceding defeat to me is all the thanks I need.”  She winked, then leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips.  “Say, tomorrow when they go on patrol again, how about we cook up some popcorn and I can tell you just how awesome Picard is over Kirk.”  She gave him a dazzling smile before heading to her room, leaving Andrew standing in the hall with a goofy grin and pink cheeks.


End file.
